Bill Lord, UNH Cooperative Extension fruit specialist emeritus, brings his renowned wit and wisdom to the blogsophere with his new blog, Fruit Grower's Journal: A journal of the activities of a typical fruit grower.

Lord, who retired officially in 2003, but has remained active in Extension tree fruit work, says the information in his blog will apply to backyard fruit producers as well as commercial growers. Lord says he'll devote some posts to small fruits, too.

Current posts feature commentary how New Hampshire's fruit trees are enduring the harsh New Hampshire winter; each post then describes a "variety of the week." (The latest: Buerre Bosc pear.)

Widely acclaimed for his hands-on teaching and extraordinary pruning skills, Lord says he ventured into cyberspace because, "The New Hampshire Fruit Growers Association already had a Web site. A blog seemed like another good opportunity to share information, so why not?"

Check out the Fruit Grower's Journal. Lord says he eagerly awaits comments and questions from readers.